Summit Point Golf Country Club

If you are travelling to the Philippines, there is a gem of a golf course in the Batangas region of the country, around 1 hour and 30 minutes from the city of Manila.

A private golf course measuring some 6775 yards from the back tees, and a par of 72 the Summit Point Golf & Country Club is an absolute must try track.

Designed by world renowned architect Robert Trent Jones Jr, the design was based on some of the best holes of golf that you can find anywhere in the world.

Ideally located in the Philippines golfers can enjoy a wonderful 18 holes in a climate that would be considered as one of the most comfortable for foreigners.

The superb backdrop of the Malayarat Mountain Range really sets the aesthetics apart from other golf courses in the country.

A colonial French-style mansion clubhouse lies at the end of the entrance driveway and is the perfect accompaniment to the stunning golf course.

A superb selection of food and beverages is on offer and the quality is exquisite.

Aptly, the course is reffered to as the “World 18” and the individual character of each world-famous hole does not disappoint. It is Jones Jr´s incredible skill that has created a golf course that flows perfectly from green to tee, a huge achievement considering the design has been plucked from several of the best golf courses across the world.

The course is, as you may expect, not easy and the varying wind conditions throughout the day changes the way the course plays.

You are immediately faced with a challenge. The first is a 391-yard par four, with a large lake stretching some 140 yards or so from the green back down the fairway, requiring a well-placed drive and an accurate approach if you do not want to destroy your card before you even get going.

Hole 3 is a replica of the 14th at Spanish Bay (Pebble Beach) and it is beautiful, perhaps even more stunning than the original hole.

A wonderful par 3 awaits on the 6th, with the rainforest protecting the right side of the hole, bunkers left and right framing the elevated green.

Incredibly the 14th hole boasts the longest bunker in the world, stretching from the tee to the green an incredible 572 yards. This is tough and is reminiscent of the 16th hole at PGA West.

If you are looking to have the chance to play the 12th hole at Augusta, then you will not be disappointed as the 13th is modelled on the hole and is just as tricky.

Arguably the best hole on the course, replicating the exquisite 14th at the world’s most famous course, St Andrews is the 16th. Playing 600-yards from the back tees, the hole is a monster. A blind tee-shot starts the hole, with well placed bunkers to catch both the errant and well struck drives. Once negotiated the second is a testing lay-up requiring with a bunker protecting the entrance to the green.

Summit Point is spectacular in every sense from the facilities to the course, the staff to the knowledgeable caddies that are almost imperative.